Between crime and war: Illicit flows and the institutional design of international policy responses.

While the reasons why states create international institutions have attracted sustained academic interested in international relations for more than three decades, the question why states design these institutions in such a variety of ways is only emerging on the academic agenda. This study seeks to contribute to the institutional design debate by transferring the principles of transaction cost economics theory from the context of in- ter-firm to that of inter-state cooperation. Transaction cost economics shares with other functionalist design theories the core assumption that actors adopt the design that best addresses the specific hazards a given problem poses to their cooperative undertaking, whereby they have to balance the merits and drawbacks associated with individual design options. Specifically, states face a dilemma between adopting a mode of governance, which fosters higher levels of compliance (hard law with high levels of obligation, precision and delegation) and one, which allows for flexible adjustments to changing circumstances (soft law). Which type of design is most appropriate, depends on the underlying problem constellation-categorised here based on the three variables asset specificity, behavioural uncertainty, and environmental uncertainty. This study hypothesises that 'harder' governance structures are pertinent when the intensity of asset specificity (the incentives to shirk and the vulnerability to shirking by others) and behavioural uncertainty (the difficulty involved with detecting non-compliance) are high. In contrast, 'softer' institutions are required as the possibility of unforeseen changes in the understanding of the causes, consequences or remedies of a problem increases (environmental uncertainty). Whether form does indeed follow function according to this logic will be tested qualitatively on the basis of four international institutions established between 1988 and 2003. These institutions have in common that they all seek to tackle problems arising at the fuzzy border between crime and war, such as conflict diamonds, the trafficking in narcotic drugs and small arms and light weapons, and money laundering. These institutions differ from each other, however, in terms of their design, spanning the full spectrum from high to low degrees of legalisation

Validation of the predictive value of BDNF -87 methylation for antidepressant treatment success in severely depressed patients—a randomized rater-blinded trial

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is essential for antidepressant treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Our repeated studies suggest that DNA methylation of a specific CpG site in the promoter region of exon IV of the BDNF gene (CpG -87) might be predictive of the efficacy of monoaminergic antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and others. This trial aims to evaluate whether knowing the biomarker is non-inferior to treatment-as-usual (TAU) regarding remission rates while exhibiting significantly fewer adverse events (AE). Methods: The BDNF trial is a prospective, randomized, rater-blinded diagnostic study conducted at five university hospitals in Germany. The study’s main hypothesis is that {1} knowing the methylation status of CpG -87 is non-inferior to not knowing it with respect to the remission rate while it significantly reduces the AE rate in patients experiencing at least one AE. The baseline assessment will occur upon hospitalization and a follow-up assessment on day 49 (± 3). A telephone follow-up will be conducted on day 70 (± 3). A total of 256 patients will be recruited, and methylation will be evaluated in all participants. They will be randomly assigned to either the marker or the TAU group. In the marker group, the methylation results will be shared with both the patient and their treating physician. In the TAU group, neither the patients nor their treating physicians will receive the marker status. The primary endpoints include the rate of patients achieving remission on day 49 (± 3), defined as a score of ≤ 10 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-24), and the occurrence of AE. Ethics and dissemination: The trial protocol has received approval from the Institutional Review Boards at the five participating universities. This trial holds significance in generating valuable data on a predictive biomarker for antidepressant treatment in patients with MDD. The findings will be shared with study participants, disseminated through professional society meetings, and published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration: German Clinical Trial Register DRKS00032503. Registered on 17 August 2023

Establishing Shrubs in Florida Landscapes

ENH-1130, a 6-page illustrated fact sheet by Edward F. Gilman, Amy L. Shober, Kimberly A. Moore, Christine Wiese, Maria Paz, and S. Michelle Scheiber, describes the steps that homeowners should take for effective irrigation of transplanted, container-grown shrubs in the home landscape until there is sufficient root growth for them to become established. Includes additional resources. Published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, June 2009. ENH1130/EP391: Establishing Shrubs in Florida Landscapes (ufl.edu)</jats:p

Establishing Shrubs in Florida Landscapes

ENH-1130, a 6-page illustrated fact sheet by Edward F. Gilman, Amy L. Shober, Kimberly A. Moore, Christine Wiese, Maria Paz, and S. Michelle Scheiber, describes the steps that homeowners should take for effective irrigation of transplanted, container-grown shrubs in the home landscape until there is sufficient root growth for them to become established. Includes additional resources. Published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, June 2009. ENH1130/EP391: Establishing Shrubs in Florida Landscapes (ufl.edu

Planting Shrubs in Florida Landscapes

ENH-1129, a 4-page illustrated fact sheet by Edward F. Gilman, Amy L. Shober, Kimberly A. Moore, Christine Wiese, Maria Paz and S. Michele Scheiber, provides guidance for planting shrubs in Florida home landscapes. Includes additional resources. Published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, June 2009. ENH1129/EP390: Planting Shrubs in Florida Landscapes (ufl.edu

Planting Shrubs in Florida Landscapes

ENH-1129, a 4-page illustrated fact sheet by Edward F. Gilman, Amy L. Shober, Kimberly A. Moore, Christine Wiese, Maria Paz and S. Michele Scheiber, provides guidance for planting shrubs in Florida home landscapes. Includes additional resources. Published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, June 2009. ENH1129/EP390: Planting Shrubs in Florida Landscapes (ufl.edu)</jats:p

Lactate versus Phosphate as Biomarkers to Aid Mechanical Circulatory Support Decisions in Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and Return of Spontaneous Circulation

Aims: Identifying patients who may benefit from mechanical circulatory support (MCS) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) remains challenging; thus, a search for helpful biomarkers is warranted. We aimed to evaluate phosphate and lactate levels on admission regarding their associations with survival with and without MCS. Methods: In 224 OHCA patients who achieved ROSC, the initial phosphate and lactate levels were investigated to discriminate in-hospital mortality by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. According to the Youden Index (YI) from the respective ROC, the groups were risk stratified by both biomarkers, and 30-day mortality was analyzed in patients with and without MCS. Results: Within the entire collective, MCS was not associated with a better chance of survival. Both phosphate and lactate level elevations showed good yet comparable discriminations to predict mortality (areas under the curve: 0.80 vs. 0.79, p = 0.74). In patients with initial phosphate values > 2.2 mmol/L (>YI), 30-day mortality within the MCS cohort was lower (HR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.4–3.7; p = 0.0037). In patients with lower phosphate levels and groups stratified by lactate, 30-day mortality was similar in patients with and without MCS. Conclusions: We found a significant association between survival and MCS therapy in patients with phosphate levels above 2.2 mmol/L (Youden Index), and a similar discrimination of patient overall survival by lactate and phosphate. Prospective studies should assess the possible independent prognostic value of phosphate and its clearance for MCS efficiency